Climate & Economy Southern Colonies

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Ben Potter
Period 5
Climate of the southern colonies

Because of the hot summers, long growing season, and useful natural materials, the southern colonies thrive. The environment in that area is very beautiful and supports a great diversity of wildlife.

Sources Key
1: A Primary Source History of the Colony of South Carolina
2: A History of U.S (Making Thirteen Colonies)
3: This Is Americas Story
4: United States History
5: http://www.usahistory.info/southern
6: Primary source books (South Carolina)

Weather/Environment

  • Swampy (4)
  • Coastal plains (3)
  • Rolling hills and valleys (1)
  • Warmer than northern colonies (4)
  • Long hot summers (4)
  • Short mild winters (4)
  • Moist and humid (4)
  • Rich soil (3)
  • Wide navigable rivers (3)
  • Good coastal harbors (3)
  • Forests (5)
  • Beautiful plants and flowers (6)
  • Palm trees and Spanish moss (6)
  • Venus’s-flytrap grows in wild (6)
  • Blue Ridge mountains contain many waterfalls (1)


Natural Resources


  • Lumber – pine and hardwood forests (5)
  • Warm and wet soil made for great farming (1)
  • Native Food
  • Bear deer and other wild animals (4)
  • Corn (4)
  • Squash (4)
  • Beans (4)
  • Melons (4)
  • Catawba tribe used tree bark for homes (4)
  • Yemassees made houses out of grass, bark and palmetto leaves (4)

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Economy of the southern colonies


The valued plants that grow well in the southern colonies are very useful to their economy. Because of the useful crops that grow there, the southern colonies are one of the richest in all of the U.S colonies.


Farming/Plantations


  • Farming was much easier than in the north so it flourished (4
  • Farmers need lots of land to rotate crops (rice & Indigo deplete soil) (3)
  • Land was cheap so they bought a lot – “Plantations” (3)
  • Plantations so big they require workers (3)
  • Workers were indentured servants and slaves (3)
  • Tobacco (3)
  • Rice (6)
  • Indigo (dye) (6)
  • Wheat (6)
  • Sugar (4)
  • Cotton (4)
  • By 1730s exporting about 20million lbs of rice (1)
  • Poorer farmers lived in the “Backcountry” away from the coast (4)


Trade and Commerce


  • Traded with Indians: (1)
  • Tools, (1)
  • Rum (1)
  • Guns (1)
  • Furs and skins that were valued in England (1)
  • Plantation owners bought things from England instead of making them (3)
  • Furniture (3)
  • Clothing and things they needed their own use (3)
  • Buying from England created commerce (3)
  • Commerce with England created seaports (3)
  • Navigable rivers made it easy to transport stuff (3)
  • Some plantation owners had their own wharfs to transport crops (3)